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Guests: Howard Fineman, David Corn, Amanda Drury, Eugene Robinson, Susan Page, Ed Rollins, Bernard Sanders, Carl Lewis
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: The times are tough, the talk is crazier.
Let`s play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I`m Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight:
Trouble in River City. What`s worse for President Obama, that nearly two
thirds of the voters say they are angry, that a majority of Americans don`t
think his jobs plan will work, or that his own party is depressed? It`s a
trifecta of bad news for the president right now, and the big question is
whether the White House can fill the cracks before the president`s
reelection chances crumble away. That`s where we start tonight, a bad
night for the president.
And later: What`s Michele Bachmann talking about when she suggests
that vaccines can cause, quote, "mental retardation"? She was trying to
ding Rick Perry for requiring that young girls in Texas be immunized
against a virus that causes cervical cancer, but now Bachmann herself is
under attack for making claims that have no basis in medical fact, and once
again, the Republican Party looks like it`s the anti-science party.
And we learned the number of Americans in poverty shot up to its
highest level since 1993. Nearly one in six Americans now are in poverty.
Republicans now blame the president, but this economy is a direct result of
the Bush tax cuts 10 years ago. The rich are getting richer, the middle
class is shrinking and the GOP has become a party where crowds now cheer
loudly at letting someone without health care -- or health insurance simply
Plus, nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis won the battle to be
on the ballot for the state senate race out in New Jersey. Carl Lewis
joins us here on HARDBALL tonight.
"Let Me Finish" tonight with what I call the battle of "The Planet of
the Apes" in today`s Republican Party.
We begin with the growing concern among Democrats. Howard Fineman`s
an MSNBC political analyst and the Huffington Post Media Group editorial
director, and Susan Page is the Washington bureau chief for "USA Today" and
writes many of their front page stories. I read them often, especially in
hotel rooms because they always seem to appear magically at my door!
MATTHEWS: Anyway, let`s take a look at these numbers. They`re not
good for the president or the Democrats. A majority now, 51 percent of the
Americans, do not believe the Obama jobs bill will lower the unemployment
rate, according to a new Bloomberg number. I believe that number. Let me
ask the group here. Howard, is that number simply a reflection of the fact
that you ask any question about the president`s economics and they say no?
HOWARD FINEMAN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that`s exactly what it
is because elsewhere in that poll and some other polls, voters were asked
about their views of the different pieces of the bill itself, you know, the
ideas within the bill. They`re more favorable toward the ideas in the bill
than they are to the bill when it`s described as Barack Obama`s bill.
MATTHEWS: They don`t like the brand name.
FINEMAN: They don`t like the brand name, which right now is a
reversal of where things were a year ago and very bad news --
MATTHEWS: Boy, that is bad news.
FINEMAN: Very bad news for the president.
MATTHEWS: That means what he`s touching isn`t working.
SUSAN PAGE, "USA TODAY": That`s true, and he`s having trouble
breaking through, getting people to believe what he says or even to listen
to what he says. You know, the big speech to the joint session of Congress
did not budge his job approval number or --
MATTHEWS: It`s funny because 30 million people watched it, too.
PAGE: That`s right.
MATTHEWS: They did listen.
PAGE: People watched it. He`s been out since then, doing what
political advisers said he needed to do, get outside of Washington, press
the same message over and over again. It`s not having an effect on the
approval that he has.
MATTHEWS: Well, let`s see. The CNN Opinion Research poll asked
Americans if they were angry about how things are going in America.
Seventy-two percent said, yes, angry is the word. Boy, you hear it and
feel it. Seventy-one percent say they`re scared. Boy, you get scared,
then you get angry about how things are going.
You know, I always feel one of the (INAUDIBLE) really -- reason people
don`t like criminals, they make them scared.
PAGE: Well, and this is, I think, the worst news of all for President
Obama. To be running for reelection in a landscape where Americans
overwhelmingly say we`re going in the wrong direction, I`ve lost hope on
the economy, I`m fearful of what`s going to happen next. That makes it
very hard for an incumbent president to make his case.
FINEMAN: Well, you know, what`s interesting --
MATTHEWS: People don`t like being scared because it -- and it makes
them angry for making them scared.
FINEMAN: Yes. What`s interesting to me about this is just the other
day, I was interviewing a Democrat who`s doing polling and focus groups for
the White House and the Democratic National Committee. This was a focus
group down in Richmond. And this guy was telling me, You know what?
People aren`t angry. They wish the president would perform better, but
they`re not angry. And he kept underlining that they`re not angry. Now,
maybe that was wishful thinking --
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FINEMAN: -- because all the poll numbers we`re seeing right now is
that anger is the word, and that -- that is a problem.
The other thing that`s happening, Chris -- you know, the president got
pretty good reviews from the media and the commentariat for that speech the
other night. He had the best possible effort that he could make that was
pretty much given good notices, and the Republicans kept their mouths shut
about it. That was his last best opportunity, it seems, to make the case,
and it didn`t seem to work.
"The New York Times" on Saturday had a piece basically saying the bill
wouldn`t produce any new jobs. Even people like Stephen Colbert and Jon
Stewart, who can be funny but not cutting or dismissive -- I found if you
look at them in the last few days, they`ve been very they were very
dismissive about the jobs speech, which I thought was interesting.
MATTHEWS: Susan, do you think this resonates with the fate that
President Carter suffered in the summer `79, when he tried to talk about
issues he cared about and people stopped listening?
PAGE: It could be. Now, Obama`s numbers (ph) are in a better place
than Carter was. Carter was at a 30 percent approval rating in the Gallup
poll at this point. Obama`s in the low 40s. But this was the point when
the -- this is the point when the presidents who win reelection begin to
really build their numbers. This is when Reagan was coming up, when
Clinton was coming up. Soon they`d be over 50 percent in pretty good
President Obama faces a situation where he needs to improve his
numbers even though the economy`s numbers are, we know, not going to get
very much better by election day. This is about the economy --
FINEMAN: Yes.
PAGE: -- he is likely to have on election day.
FINEMAN: That`s the thing that`s doing it, Chris. I mean, it`s not
about the poll numbers, it`s about the reality numbers. It`s about the
unemployment number. It`s about the median household income number. It`s
about the poverty rate number that you were just talking about. It`s even
-- you know, even the College Board came out yesterday to say that the
reading scores were lower than they have ever been.
MATTHEWS: What do you make of that? Is that -- I mean, everybody
here is a parent or student-watching (ph) -- is trying to figure out why
there`s a connection.
FINEMAN: Why there`s a connection --
MATTHEWS: Why would SAT reading scores go down? Why would your oral
scores or your verbal scores --
FINEMAN: No, I`m --
MATTHEWS: I`m curious if there is a connection.
FINEMAN: Well, certainly, if people are working harder, families are
working harder, if they don`t have jobs, if the parents are worried and
don`t have time to devote to the education of their children or helping
them with homework, who knows? My point is that all the reality check
numbers --
MATTHEWS: Are you wincing?
PAGE: I am because I`m not sure it`s fair to blame --
FINEMAN: No, I`m not blaming Barack Obama --
PAGE: -- for the reading numbers going down.
FINEMAN: No, no. I`m not. That`s not what I`m doing.
MATTHEWS: I`m wondering --
MATTHEWS: -- because I`m trying to figure it out because you`re onto
something. We`re all parents. We`re empty-nesters now, but I am -- I
think --
FINEMAN: -- semi-empty.
MATTHEWS: Well, we`re empty now. And I tell you, my wife, Cathy
(ph), is a queen about some things. She`ll be working until midnight with
the kids, checking over their essays. And every teacher now gives an essay
question every night, it seems, right? And they`re doing it over and over.
And that effort is really a big part of being a parent.
FINEMAN: I`m not -- I`m not -- understand, I`m not blaming Barack
Obama. It was the tide of antagonism and worry about the economy that
brought him into power.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FINEMAN: This is a big generation-long transition that`s happening
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FINEMAN: But what I`m saying here is when all the numbers about the
sort of health of our society seem to be going in the wrong direction --
MATTHEWS: I`m with you --
FINEMAN: -- including that --
FINEMAN: -- it`s hard for him to make the sale.
MATTHEWS: Politico reports today on the mood among Democrats. Quote,
"On a high-level campaign conference call Tuesday afternoon" -- that`s
yesterday -- "Democratic donors and strategists commiserated over their
disappointment in the president. A source on the call described the mood
as `awful.` "People feel betrayed, disappointed, furious, disgusted,
hopeless` " -- they`re all sources.
Susan, you`re chuckling, but it`s not chuckle-worthy in the White
PAGE: Although -- you know, that`s true, and Democrats are
discouraged. But President Obama is not going to face a primary challenge
the way Jimmy Carter did. And that is --
MATTHEWS: Why not?
PAGE: He`s not going to do it because he`s still strong enough with
the base of the party and because there`s not a strong candidate willing to
challenge him.
MATTHEWS: OK. Let`s talk about those two special elections yesterday
now. First of all, the one in Arizona -- Nevada has never voted Democrat,
apparently, since it was a CD and when the state was created back in 1864.
We`ll drop that one.
When New York City, even -- whatever part of the boroughs goes
Republican, you know you`ve got trouble. A lot of ethnic factors there,
Orthodox Jewish voters, Catholic voters very upset and urban ethnic
Catholic voters very upset about same-sex.
Susan, now much of that was -- and by the way, even the president at
his high level in 2008 in November only got 55 percent there, so it`s not
some lefty district.
PAGE: And Barack Obama`s approval rating there is about 10 points
below where it is nationally. So this -- while this has been a
historically Democratic --
MATTHEWS: (INAUDIBLE) it`s in the 30s.
PAGE: Where this has been historically a Democratic district, it`s
been trending more Republican. And as you say a combination of factors --
the vote on same-sex marriage -- the Democrat had voted for it in the state
legislature --
MATTHEWS: Somebody called it a "perfect storm," a bad storm. Yes.
PAGE: Yes. The concern by some Jews --
MATTHEWS: Howard --
PAGE: -- about treatment of Israel --
MATTHEWS: Well, a lot of it is about settlements. It`s a very
conservative group of people there within this -- somebody said it`s a
third of a third. Within the Jewish community there, it`s very
conservative, very conservative.
FINEMAN: It`s a third of a third of a third, but it was enough in a
low-turnout election to matter. And what they`re looking at is the vote
coming up in the United Nations for --
MATTHEWS: Oh, you`re right.
FINEMAN: -- the Palestinian state and all that kind of stuff.
MATTHEWS: It`s a great time to push the button. As I like to say,
bang on the pipes if you want hot water.
FINEMAN: Yes. And frankly, the Obama administration is now trying to
turn that around in a very public effort that`s probably just going to
advertise their own weakness.
MATTHEWS: Because they can`t stop the vote in the General Assembly.
FINEMAN: They can`t stop it.
MATTHEWS: Anyway, thank you very much. It`s a bad night for the
Democratic Party and the president.
We`ll be right back with more HARDBALL. Thank you, Howard Fineman.
Thank you, Susan Page.
Coming up: Michele Bachmann -- now a little entertainment`s coming up
here. She`s under attack for suggesting that a vaccine can cause mental
retardation. If you`re feeling blue right now as a Democrat or a
progressive, stay tuned for a few minutes. You`re about to get some comic
relief. This is the latest example of a Republican fighting science. This
is the party of "The Planet of the Apes." They don`t like human history or
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: President Obama continued his campaign for the American
Jobs Act today. He spoke in North Carolina, North Carolina State
University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Let`s listen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In North Carolina
alone, there are 153 structurally deficient bridges that need to be
repaired. Four of them are near here, on or around the Beltline (ph). Why
would we wait to act until another bridge falls?
MATTHEWS: Well, actually, according to the Department of
Transportation`s numbers, from the group Transportation for America, there
are more than 2,300 structurally deficient bridges in the state of North
Carolina, 2,300. Where President Obama spoke today, by the way, North
Carolina`s second congressional district, which is represented by
Republican Renee Ellmers, there are 139 bridges just in that congressional
district alone that are rated structurally deficient. Those are bridges
that need immediate repair or outright replacement, and Americans can be
put to work fixing them right now -- 139 troubled bridges in that
congressional district alone where President Obama spoke today.
We`ll be right back.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had a mother
last night come up to me here in Tampa, Florida, after the debate. She
told me her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she
suffered from mental retardation thereafter.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
That`s presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on the vaccine for the
virus that causes cervical cancer. Later that day on Sean Hannity`s radio
show, she tried to qualify her expertise. Let`s listen to her then.
BACHMANN: I am not a doctor. I`m not a scientist. I`m not a
physician. All I was doing is reporting what this woman told me last night
at the debate.
MATTHEWS: Well, the American Academy of Pediatrics quickly corrected
Bachmann, saying her comments have "no scientific validity" -- that`s the
phrase they used. And we called the campaign of Bachmann for comment.
When asked numerous times whether Congressman Bachmann or anyone from
her campaign had reached out to the woman who made that claim about her
daughter having suffered mental retardation as a result of taking the
vaccine, the answer was varying versions of, quote, "Our focus is on
overreach of executive privilege and crony capitalism," two transgressions
they say Governor Rick Perry made when he tried to use an executive order
to push through the vaccination program from a drug-maker represented by a
former staffer.
And later today, Rick Perry weighed in with this.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that was a
statement that was (SIC) no truth and no basis in fact. And look, I hate
cancer, and that`s what this has always been about for me. Did I handle
this wrong? I`ve readily admitted that I did, that I should have done it
in a different way, we should have had an opt-in instead of an opt-out.
But at the end of the day, I am always going to be erring on the side of
MATTHEWS: Wow. Ed Rollins is a political consultant. We all know
him well. Until recently, he was Michele Bachmann`s campaign manager. Ed,
thanks for coming on HARDBALL tonight.
ED ROLLINS, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: My pleasure.
MATTHEWS: Are you still with the campaign? Or what`s your status
with regard to congresswoman Bachmann?
ROLLINS: You know, I`m available. If she needs to call me and ask me
for anything, I`m more than happy. Two weeks ago, I made every decision.
Today I make no decisions.
MATTHEWS: Well, what about this decision to get involved in this
issue of claiming that somehow the vaccine that was given to those girls
down in Texas causes "mental retardation," using the language of the
ROLLINS: There`s no empirical data other than one individual woman
coming up to her. I think Mrs. Bachmann is an emotional person who
basically has great feeling for people. And I think that`s what she was
trying to project. Obviously, she`d have been better if she had stayed on
the issue, which the issue was the governor`s executive orders and whether
he basically made a mistake, as he said he did.
He made a mistake. She made a mistake. The quicker she admits she
made a mistake and moves on, the better she is.
MATTHEWS: But she hasn`t done that. Here`s Rush Limbaugh on Michele
Bachmann`s comments. Listen to Rushbo today.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I`ll tell you, Michele Bachmann
-- she might have blown it today -- well, not blown it, but she might have
jumped the shark today. If she`d have just left it alone on this
vaccination thing from last night -- but she`s now out saying that this
Gardasil, the drug, now causes mental retardation, that somebody in the
audience came up to her and told her that. So she`s -- and that`s jumping
the shark on this. There`s no evidence that the vaccine causes mental
MATTHEWS: That was Limbaugh yesterday, Ed. Do you want to further
comment on his comment about her?
ROLLINS: You know, he`s entitled to his opinion, and obviously, he`s
been (ph) a strong opinion historically. She needs to move on. The bottom
line is she can`t prove the case, and I think it`s just better for her to
get back on the trail and go out and do -- she`s the best retail politics
person in this campaign. She needs to get back to doing that out in Iowa.
MATTHEWS: I agree with you about her retail skills. In fact, as a
personality, I think she`s very charming in person. My question is about
her attitude towards science. Does she believe this sort of common sense,
horse sense, what you hear and word of mouth has relevance? I mean, when
you hear somebody come up to me -- you know the kind of people that come up
to people in public life, even people in the media like me. I get truthers
coming up to me all the time with cock-and-bull stories. I don`t believe
them. I don`t even quote them. I certainly wouldn`t give them the word of
mouth to somebody else.
Why did she parrot what somebody said to her without any checking out
of whether that person knew what they were talking about?
ROLLINS: Well, you know, it`s easy to second guess when you`re not
there. You know, you`ve been around candidates all your life, as have I.
It`s very important that you never basically say anything that you can`t
back up with empirical data. If she would have said, Listen, a woman came
up to me, I`m going to find out whether it`s valid or not, that would have
been a good statement.
But I think the bottom line here is she has made what was a very
positive debate and made the issue about Perry to where it`s now an issue
about her, and she needs to move on.
MATTHEWS: What do you think happened with her? Because I watched you
work on her campaign and I`ve watched you -- you`re a pro. I got the sense
when you were with her, you were trying to discipline her in this sense --
not in a patronizing way, but to do what Jim Baker and the others and you
guys did with Ronald Reagan over the years, keep them focused on the
winning issues of the economy.
You`ve seen the numbers we just talked about. This country is in such
bad shape. You just ride that pony. You don`t have to go off and find
other mounts to run. But yet she wasn`t doing well focusing on the
economy. Why not?
ROLLINS: Well, she needs to add -- and I think she still will. It`s
-- you know, you can basically be against Obama, which most of the country
is at this point in time. You now have to draw some conclusions as to how
you`re going to govern when you get in there. Being against the debt,
being against "Obama care" are all fine, but then you`ve got to add some
other things. And I think she will over the next several months.
If I would have stayed running the campaign, that was the direction we
were moving in, and I`m sure that people that are around her today, my
team, will do the same thing.
MATTHEWS: Well, why is she jumping all over these shots then?
ROLLINS: You know, I think the bottom line is it comes back to a
discipline. She`s not a veteran candidate. She`s a new candidate. She`s
a great candidate. But at the end of the day, someone needs to be there.
When someone says that to her, basically, say, Let`s move on, let`s keep it
on the issue of executive abuse of power, keep it on Perry, don`t make it
about yourself.
MATTHEWS: You know, except for this crazy stuff about science -- and
I believe in evolution. And I`m Catholic, as you know, like you are -- and
I believe in evolution. I was taught it in school by a Christian brother.
I don`t think it`s anti-religious to believe that we evolved in a
certain way. It`s why we experiment on animals and why there`s oil under
the ground, because it was put there long ago by organic forces. Anyway --
260 million years ago, by the way, not in the Old Testament.
The Republican Party is involved in a classic fight now, like it was
between Taft and Ike back in `52, like between Rockefeller and Goldwater,
between Jerry Ford and Reagan, between Reagan and Herbert Walker Bush.
It`s a great fight.
Tell me, is it really going to be like that center-right or center vs.
right? Is this where it`s headed between what it looks like Romney and
Perry right now?
ROLLINS: Well, you know, it`s somewhat about -- a lot of these things
are about religion.
And obviously the evangelical Christian is a very important part of
our coalition. At the end of the day, my sense, if it does end up being
Romney and it does end up being Governor Perry, who is sort of the median,
and the polls now basically indicate it`s a two-person race, I think it --
I think it still can evolve to where somebody else can get in.
Perry may stumble. I don`t think it`s a foregone conclusion. If it
is, though, then it`s kind of the mainstream establishment candidate that
Romney represents vs. the two-party, conservative, Western, Southern part
of the party which Perry would represent. I think at the end of the day,
historically, the establishment candidate wins. This may be a different
MATTHEWS: Do you think in a country that`s 70-some percent angry, a
non-angry candidate like Romney can win? That`s why I think it might be a
different year. It looks like your party may act like the Democrats this
year -- next year -- not like the Republicans of old of picking the person
whose turn it is, the establishment candidate, but pick someone who fits
sort of the mood, the Zeitgeist, like the Democrats always do.
ROLLINS: The most overwhelming thing that I have seen in a lot of
polling data that I have seen is Republicans want someone who can basically
beat Obama. That`s first and foremost.
ROLLINS: The sidebar issues don`t matter. At this point in time they
want him out and they want one of our candidates to beat him. Whichever
one has the best chance is the person who is going to be the nominee.
MATTHEWS: Is there a secret unspoken? Because I`m working this
Kennedy story back with this book I have done. Is there a secret
underground anti-Mormon vote that won`t speak its mind that may hurt Romney
in the South when you get down there?
ROLLINS: It may. I think it`s sad if it does, but I think it is. I
think it affects more a nomination process than it does a general election
I think people are now getting used to Romney. He`s been running for
six, seven years, and I don`t think the issue is being raised in the same
way it was two or three years ago, but at the end of the day, there`s
always bias in politics.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
ROLLINS: And, unfortunately, religious bias is one of those biases.
MATTHEWS: Who do you want to win the nomination?
ROLLINS: I still want Michele Bachmann to win the nomination.
MATTHEWS: You would like to see her president?
ROLLINS: You know, I think she`s a great candidate. I think she`s
evolved and I think she will evolve. She`s got an uphill battle. She`s
got to get back in the game again.
MATTHEWS: Would you like to see her president of the United States,
controlling the bomb?
ROLLINS: I would not be -- well, first of all, the bomb is -- I want
someone to control the economy, and I think she`s right on those issues.
MATTHEWS: But you would make her commander in chief?
ROLLINS: Whoever is president gets to be commander in chief. The one
that is in there today didn`t have much experience.
MATTHEWS: You`re hedging.
MATTHEWS: Would you like to see her commander in chief of the United
States, Michele Bachmann?
ROLLINS: She`s commander -- if she`s elected president, she will be
commander in chief. And she will do a good job.
MATTHEWS: Would you like her to be commander in chief?
ROLLINS: I have no question that she could be a very tough commander
in chief.
MATTHEWS: Oh, you are so slippery, Ed. You`re not answering my
question. But I know I`m not getting an answer from you.
ROLLINS: You got as much as you`re going to get.
MATTHEWS: Have you taken the same -- have you gotten as hypnotized as
she seems sometimes?
ROLLINS: Have I gotten as hypnotized? You have known me for 40
years. I don`t get hypnotized.
MATTHEWS: OK. Thank you, Ed Rollins.
ROLLINS: My pleasure.
MATTHEWS: I heard your answer. We are going to go over the
recordings over and over again to find your meaning.
MATTHEWS: Anyway, David Corn is Washington bureau chief for "Mother
Jones" and an MSNBC political analyst.
He was not quite ready to say she ought to be in charge of the nuclear
DAVID CORN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: But you asked Ed Rollins, her
former campaign manager --
MATTHEWS: Manager.
CORN: -- if he would like her to be president, and what he said was,
I think she will evolve. That is not --
MATTHEWS: But she doesn`t believe in evolution.
CORN: I know -- maybe politically.
That is not a ringing endorsement from someone who worked close with
her to make -- to get her the nomination.
MATTHEWS: How about being commander in chief and controlling our
nuclear arsenal?
CORN: Well, he wasn`t very --
MATTHEWS: It comes with the job.
CORN: He was not very enthusiastic about that prospect either.
MATTHEWS: OK. Let`s talk about the Republican Party.
I`m a believer in modern science.
CORN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: I`m also religious and I do think there`s no distinction
between the two. You can believe everything you can about the nature of
our -- you know, nature of our universe and existence --
CORN: Sure.
MATTHEWS: -- but the way it evolved. Why do you think we experiment
on animals? Because there is a relationship historically way back when.
And my question is, why do the Republicans get hung up on science?
Why are there people that just instinctively, like Bachmann, think there`s
a big win on their side if you oppose vaccination?
CORN: Well, I think it`s because of the base they are playing to
where science is often inconvenient. You look at, say, global warming, and
it`s undeniable. Rick Perry gets out there and Michele Bachmann. They
basically says it`s a hoax. Rick Perry can`t name one scientist --
CORN: But there`s a reason why.
MATTHEWS: Why?
CORN: It`s not whether -- I`m sure it`s of their own beliefs. They
don`t want to have to deal with the consequence. And they are dealing with
a base of voters who don`t believe in it.
MATTHEWS: OK. Let`s look at their history on it. Let`s look at what
they have said about evolution. Let`s look at this montage, Republicans on
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a
controversy amongst scientists about whether evolution is a fact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This comes from a Politico.com reader and was
among the top vote-getters in our early rounds. They want a yes or no.
Do you believe in evolution?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m curious. Is there anybody on the stage that
does not agree -- believe in evolution?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MCCAIN: May I just add to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
MCCAIN: I believe in evolution, but I also believe when I hike the
Grand Canyon and see it at sunset that the hand of God is there also.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it`s a
theory that`s out there. It`s got some gaps in it, but, in Texas, we teach
both creationism and evolution in our public schools.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ask him why he doesn`t believe in science?
PERRY: Because I figure you`re smart enough to figure out which one
is right.
MATTHEWS: What kind of talk is that? A kid in school is being asked
to decide on some historic question about science and the evolution of man,
as if he can decide that himself. Why do they keep going back to this
horse sense thing?
CORN: It`s not reality-based, but they are playing to an audience.
It`s not their own personal beliefs that are driving them as much as --
MATTHEWS: How do you know that?
CORN: Well, that`s my guess. Maybe -- Michele Bachmann probably does
MATTHEWS: So, they`re mimicking these people. They`re patronizing
CORN: Michele Bachmann clearly does not believe in evolution.
The others -- look at what McCain did. As soon as he saw that he was
on the wrong side of that answer, he starts talking about God`s beauty and
the Grand Canyon, because he saw the hands going up.
By and large, they are playing to a base of people who are -- who
don`t believe in science because of maybe anti --
MATTHEWS: This is "Planet of the Apes." I want to go -- this is
"Planet of the Apes." Any sign of belief in human history or science gets
you in big trouble in this party.
CORN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: It`s "Planet of the Apes." I will get to it at the end.
CORN: Look what Jon Huntsman --
MATTHEWS: You can`t show any brains anymore in the Republican Party,
for some reason.
CORN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: Anyway, thank you, David Corn.
CORN: Sure.
MATTHEWS: Up next: Newt Gingrich`s reaction to that weird moment at
the debate the other night when the crowd cheered for the idea of letting
someone die because they didn`t have health insurance. What`s going on?
That`s in the "Sideshow." You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL. Now for the "Sideshow."
First up, talk about creating a sideshow. At a House subcommittee
session just yesterday, a group of Republicans proposed an interesting set
of bills. The contents? Well, measures to strip President Obama of his
ability to designate certain areas as national monuments.
Well, Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg of Montana summed up his
efforts in saying that -- quote -- "We must cope with the constant
knowledge that one day we could wake up to find that, with the stroke of a
pen, the president declared their backyard a national monument."
Well, this guy sounds like a real piece of work. U.S. presidents have
maintained this power since 1906, and it`s led to the establishment of
little-known areas like the Grand Canyon.
And next up, on Monday night, we heard the audience at that CNN/Tea
Party debate, as you heard before, erupt in cheers when candidate Ron Paul
was asked whether an uninsured man in a coma should be left to die.
Well, yesterday, other candidates were asked to respond to this
disturbing crowd reaction. Here`s what the inimitable Newt Gingrich had to
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Historically, we had
charity. We had places that said, if you`re down on your luck, if you have
failed to be responsible, we will take care of you. But that doesn`t mean
that you`re necessarily going to get a private room. It doesn`t mean
necessarily you`re going to get everything somebody would get who has been
prudent and who took care of themselves.
Yes, we will make sure that they are taken care of, but they ought to
understand that`s charity.
MATTHEWS: Well, talk about crapola. That was Newt was out there
dancing. The crowd, by the way, cheered for letting that person die, not
get a double room.
This is what "Washington Post" columnist Steve Pearlstein was getting
at earlier this week when he wrote that -- quote -- "If you came up with a
bumper sticker that pulls together the platform of this year`s crop of
Republican presidential candidates, it would have to be: Repeal the 20th
century. Vote GOP."
Well, Pearlstein knows how to make a point. Wow.
Up next -- and this is serious -- the poverty rate is going up in this
country, and today`s Republican Party isn`t helping. They want to roll
back much of the social safety net that helps the poor. They cheer at the
idea we should let people die without health insurance. What is going on?
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
AMANDA DRURY, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Amanda Drury with your CNBC
"Market Wrap."
Well, a solid rally on signs of economic determination in Europe. The
Dow Jones industrials soaring 140 points, the S&P 500 adding 15, and the
Nasdaq climbing by 40. Well, let`s start in Europe again today.
A little stumble out of the gate as Austrian lawmakers voted against
fast-tracking funding for a beefed-up bailout pool. But then French and
German leaders reaffirmed their commitment to helping Greece steer clear of
a default. Also, Italy`s parliament gave final approval for new austerity
measures, including higher taxes, pension reforms and spending cuts.
And back here at home, GE is buying back $3 billion of preferred
shares it sold to Berkshire Hathaway at the height of the financial crisis.
GE is a minority shareholder in CNBC and MSNBC.
Elsewhere, PepsiCo ending higher after announcing a management shakeup
in two key units. And Avis giving up buying Dollar Thrifty after chasing
it for more than a year. That leave rival Hertz in the driver`s seat.
That`s it from CNBC. We`re first in business worldwide -- back over
to HARDBALL.
MATTHEWS: Well, back to HARDBALL.
There was some bleak economic news out there, bleak numbers released
just this week by the Census Bureau that shows that poverty -- there`s a
word we haven`t heard lately -- is increasing here in our country -- 15.1
percent of Americans are now living in poverty. It`s a statistical number.
That`s defined as a family of four making less than about $22,000 a year.
That`s four people and $22,000 a year or an individual making under $11,000
a year. That percentage is up from about 11.3 percent just a decade ago.
So it`s gone up about half, about 50 percent higher than it was when
President Bush went into office. That`s bad news for the average family.
The median household income fell to just under $50,000. That`s down from -
- down about $3,000 since 1999. The numbers weren`t bad news for everyone,
of course. We know that one. The richest 1 percent of Americans saw --
quote -- "significant income gains," according to "The Washington Post"
Well, despite all this, many Republicans argue that the country needs
to cut budget for the safety net. We hear these fights all the time, about
cutting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. That`s in keeping even for
people out of poverty.
And Republican candidates like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have
said poor people aren`t paying their fair share of taxes. We`re hearing
that a lot, raise taxes, create taxes in fact for people in the lower-
income levels. What exactly is the Republican plan to lower the numbers of
Americans in poverty?
Well, we won`t get it from Senator Bernie Sanders. He chaired the
hearing yesterday at the poverty -- on the poverty rates.
Senator Sanders, I was listening to you this morning. And I am so
impressed by you because, like me, you`re a little further left of me, I
must say, but you`re a `60s guy and you have got a heart about this stuff.
And I really think that we ought to hear from people like you more often in
these times.
Maybe in good times, I don`t want to hear from you.
MATTHEWS: But I do want to hear from you in bad times, because you do
have something of the understanding of the role of public policy. You
don`t just sit back and be Herbert Hoover again.
We tried doing nothing. We tried balancing the budget. We tried
cutting spending. Even Roosevelt talked that up in `32, as you know. It
didn`t work. It landed up with 25 percent unemployment and a horrific
economic situation if it weren`t for World War II.
So talk. What should we do?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, first thought, you were right
a moment ago when you said we don`t hear very much about poverty in
America. And you know why that is, Chris? It`s because many poor people
don`t vote. You know that. And poor people certainly don`t make a whole
lot in campaign contributions.
So we kind of push them aside, except when we can use them as a
political football for the right wing to blame all of the problems in the
world on poor people.
The reality is -- and we had a hearing on this yesterday -- is that
not only is poverty in America growing because the middle class is
collapsing and more and more people are ending up poor, but poverty is not
just what many people think it is. Oh, people live in bad housing. You
know, people don`t have a good car. They don`t go to the movies on
Saturday night.
You know what poverty is about, Chris? Many people don`t know this.
MATTHEWS: What?
SANDERS: And this is what we heard from physicians yesterday.
If you are in the lower 20 percent of income earners, you are going to
die, D-I-E, six-and-a-half years earlier than somebody in the top 20
percent. What do you think about that?
MATTHEWS: Well, that`s like you hear -- well, that`s what I hear from
countries. I was in the Peace Corps. I hear that from the country I was
in, that when they really have bad times, that`s -- let`s take a look at
something I want you to talk about which to me is graphic and I don`t think
I will soon forget it.
On Monday`s Republican debate down in Tampa, where they are having
their convention next year, there was a moment, an exchange with
Representative Ron Paul about government safety nets. The specific
question was whether someone without insurance who was in a coma should
receive care or just simply be left to die?
Let`s watch.
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That`s what freedom is
all about, taking your own risk. This whole idea that you have to prepare
and take care of everybody --
WOLF BLITZER, DEBATE MODERATOR: But, Congressman, are you saying that
society should just let him die?
PAUL: No.
AUDIENCE: Yes!
MATTHEWS: Didn`t you hear that hooting and hollering, it was like the
Roman Coliseum, yes, yes, yes, and the woman in the right jacket there,
shaking her head positively, yes, yes, yes. What do you make of this?
SANDERS: Well, I`ll tell you what I make of this. I know Ron Paul
and I have known him for many years. When I was in the House, we`ve worked
together. Ron is a straightforward and honest guy. I respect that.
This is what these guys believe. And what they believe ultimately is
everybody is on your own, and that`s great if you have a whole lot of
money. You know what? If you`re in a coma and when you have a whole lot
of money, you`re going to get good health care. But what they are saying
to working people, to the middle class, to low-income people, we are going
to abolish Social Security.
Government shouldn`t play a role in retirement security. We are going
to abolish Medicare and Medicaid.
Now, you know, that all comes under the rhetoric as we hate the
government. But the reality is for -- and we`re going to give huge tax
breaks to the wealthy. The reality is we, i.e. right wing extremists,
believe that what society is about is allowing the big money interests and
the wealthy to have all kinds of power, all kinds of privileges, but if
you`re in the middle class or if you`re working person, forget about it.
You`re on your own.
And if you get sick and you don`t have any health insurance, guess
what? This is what they are saying. You are going to die. That`s it.
And I have to respect their honesty in saying it. That is their
politics. That is what they believe. Forget about Medicare. Forget about
MATTHEWS: Who started the new religion that taxes and government are
bad? They now treat taxes, these abolitionists, the way antebellum
Republicans talked about slavery, like it was an essential evil.
SANDERS: Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: When did that start?
SANDERS: Well, I think what you got -- I think what you got is you
got some well-funded folks which have gone on, you know, they organized
after Barry Goldwater was devastated. They came up with an absurd right
wing philosophy based on Ayn Rand`s philosophy, and what that philosophy
about is essentially you are on your own. And to be on your own means that
we don`t need any tax revenue for Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.
And in fact, somehow it is wonderful -- you know, one of the points
you made earlier, we should also dwell on, and that is while the middle
class collapses and poverty increases, what else is going on? The
wealthiest people are doing phenomenally well. Corporations are enjoying
record-breaking profits. The rich are paying --
MATTHEWS: You know why? Here`s my theory. Now, this sounds Marxists
and I don`t want to skip to your left on this.
SANDERS: Oh, my goodness.
MATTHEWS: I want to tell you something. When I see automation, when
I got to a CVS, used to employ a lot of people just above the poverty
level, above minimum wage, and you walk in there now, it`s all machines.
Now, it`s very convenient for the customer. It`s all machines.
There`s a checkout machine, by the way, that talks to you and says
don`t forget to put your CVS card in. And, by the way, I used to have
about seven or eight cameramen, I don`t have them anymore, it`s automated,
it`s all robots.
SANDERS: Yes. OK.
MATTHEWS: Everywhere we go, it`s robots.
SANDERS: Chris
MATTHEWS: I used to go to a gas station, have somebody would check
your tires and check your oil, there ain`t anybody there. There`s nobody
working in a gas station.
SANDERS: But here`s another reality, Chris. I think that that`s an
important point, no question about it. Robotics, automation have played a
very important role.
But I`ll tell you what else has played an important role and that is
our disastrous trade policies pushed on us by corporate America. That is
NAFTA, KAFTA, permanent, normal trade relations with China.
Do you know how many factories we`ve lost in the last 10 years? The
answer is 50,000 factories. When you go shopping, you don`t buy products
made in the United States. They are made in China.
SANDERS: We`ve got to work on that issue, rebuild manufacturing,
create decent paying jobs there.
MATTHEWS: You know where the problem is there, because my old
neighborhood which was an Irish neighborhood in north Philly, now, it`s an
African-American neighborhood, the houses are in bad shape now and it
basically looked like the same neighborhood except for one thing. There`s
no factory like there was for my grandfather to go work in two stops on the
subway. Those factories aren`t there anymore.
SANDERS: Absolutely.
MATTHEWS: There`s no job for the entry level kid who graduates from
high school.
MATTHEWS: That`s it.
SANDERS: We`ve got to tell our friends in corporate America to start
reinvesting in the United States of America, rebuild manufacturing here
rather than running to China.
MATTHEWS: OK. I respect your logic because you`re a `60s guy and on
this particular economic situation, you`re the man to listen to. Thank you
very much. I wish we didn`t have to listen to you, but in these times,
you`ve got to listen to Bernie Sanders.
Anyway, thank you, sir, for joining us from Vermont.
SANDERS: Thanks, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Anyway, next, we`re joined by Eugene Robinson, a somewhat
more moderate fellow. He`s an MSNBC political analyst.
You know, I have to tell you, sometimes I think the guy is real stuck
in the `60s, but yet we`re back to worst economic times, not as bad as the
`30s. But we`re back -- look at these numbers tonight we came out with,
EUGENE ROBINSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
MATTHEWS: They are unbelievable. Seventy-some percent of the people
think -- are angry as hell. They`ve given up. They`re scared.
ROBINSON: Yes, of course. Why wouldn`t they be scared? I mean, you
know, the economy is going through a terrible time, and -- and income --
there`s this polarization, this income polarization that`s been happening
in this country. It didn`t start three or four years ago. It didn`t start
with George Bush.
It`s been happening for decades, and -- and this is the result. The
rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer, and we have one of
our two big parties increasingly adopting this, you know, every man for
himself. Every woman for herself sort of philosophy which I think is -- I
mean, let`s just call it what it is.
I think it`s immoral. I think this is an immoral philosophy on
religious grounds, on humanistic grounds. I think we are our brother`s
keeper. I think we --
MATTHEWS: What do you make of Mitt Romney, who seems like a moderate
compared to these other guys, but he`s saying corporations are people?
They are not. They are profit-driven machines.
ROBINSON: Corporations are pieces of paper with signatures on them.
You know, that`s the corporation. Yes, people work at corporations, but --
but it`s just -- it`s a weird sort of Ayn Rand philosophy. What did he do
at Bain Capital? I mean, he was a champion of creative -- the creative
destruction --
MATTHEWS: I wish the United States was doing a better job for the --
ROBINSON: The creative destruction of capitalism is a great force,
but it has to be regulated and it has to be channeled.
ROBINSON: It has to be -- it can`t steam roll human beings.
MATTHEWS: Well, it`s not just the left that`s down. I think the
center is down right now. Anyway, thank you very much, Gene Robinson. I
wish I had more time for you. But I couldn`t stop Bernie Sanders there.
Anyway, up next, off -- I didn`t want to. Up next, off and running,
nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis won his battle. He`s on the
ballot in New Jersey to run for the state Senate there. He`s going to come
here next. We`re going to talk to him.
What is it about these really, really good athletes that makes them
want to run for office? I mean, this guy, nine times gold medal winner.
This is HARDBALL, coming up on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich may not be looking west
after all. He was thinking about going west to Washington state. Well,
Kucinich`s Cleveland district was not dismantled in a Ohio redistricting
plan as he feared. But it was redrawn and now includes Toledo, Cleveland
and Toledo, home of fellow Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. She`s a
great congresswoman. Kucinich would likely have to defeat her in a
Democratic primary if he hopes to hang on to that congressional seat.
What a sad race, two good people. Kucinich, an eight-term congressman
who was considering running in Washington state, as I said, if he lost his
district in Ohio.
We`ll be right back.
MATTHEWS: We`re back.
My next guest may be best known for being the world`s fastest man, but
he`s currently involved in the race of his life as a candidate for New
Jersey state Senate. The great Carl Lewis is one of the country`s most
decorated athletes. He won nine -- count `em -- nine Olympic gold medals
for track and field. But now, Lewis is running for political office in New
Jersey. He`s had a few hurdles along the way.
Just yesterday, however, the third court circuit of the United States
Court of Appeals allowed Lewis back on the ballot in his bid to become a
New Jersey state senator, amid questions about his residency.
We`re joined right now by the man himself, Carl Lewis.
Mr. Lewis, congratulations. You`re on the ballot. What was this
fight about, whether you`re actually a New Jerseyite or what? What was the
fight about?
CARL LEWIS (D), NJ STATE SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes, they were saying the
amount of time I had my residency there. But the reality was when we first
gave out information to the law judge, he approved it. When I got down to
it, I`m a New Jersey person. I was raised there, I went to school there,
and I moved away to go to college and start my business and then moved back
to serve. So, they just tried to challenge that time that I came back.
MATTHEWS: Why should you be a state senator from New Jersey? This is
my favorite question. It`s the Ted Kennedy question. Why should you be a
state senator up in Trenton?
LEWIS: Well, the thing is that it`s a number of things, Chris.
You know, this past year, few years, I`ve been going around the world
studies, what I do, I speak to kids, I go to schools and I witnessed the
change in our education because that`s a big issue for me. And I see how
we`re being challenged globally, where I go to China or India and those
kids are educated, they speak English and they are trying to go on the
Internet to find jobs. So, when I bring that back here, that knowledge
back here.
And I`m also working in the schools. I`m a volunteer at my high
school. And a few years ago I challenged the children, the ninth graders,
who were terrible team, that they were going to be state champions by the
time they graduate. Well, they looked at me like I probably had 100 heads.
But you know what, when they were seniors those kids were number two
in the state by two points. But not only that, when you talk about --
their grades went up, their discipline was better and many of those kids
are going to college, some of them on scholarships. So I understood that
what we have to do is get down in the trenches and work with these kids,
and all it cost me was gasoline.
So, when I go to Trenton, not only do I bring a voice and experience,
but also, I`ve spent years and years of public service and I know what the
people like and I`m willing to listen.
MATTHEWS: Well, best of luck. I want to remind everybody we put a
lot of athletes in public office, all these great athletes.
Here`s the list, look at this -- it includes former United States
Senator Bill Bradley, Dollar Bill, from New Jersey, played in the NBA for
New York Knicks. He was a Rhodes Scholar.
Congressman Heath Shuler, he was a quarterback for the Redskins in the
Former United States Senator Jim Bunning. Boy, he won no-hitters in
both leagues. He`s a Hall a Famer from the Phillies especially.
Former Congressman Ralph Metcalfe who was one of the heroes of the `36
Berlin Olympics, along with Jesse Owens.
Former Congressman Bob Mathias, he was on the Wheaties Box for years.
He was a gold medal Olympian, as a decathlon, this guy.
And former New York Congressman Jack Kemp, a real close friend of mine
that passed away, was a hero for the Buffalo Bills.
So many athletes -- why do you think athletes want to go for the big
shot of politics after you`ve already been heroes, Carl?
LEWIS: Well, I really think that, first of all, a lot the athletes --
I know Bill Bradley because my brother used to work for him back in the
`70s and `80s. But I think what happens is we retire and we serve. We
serve in the communities.
So many athletes go to schools, they go places. And they interact
with people.
LEWIS: And just like me, I think, we realize, hey, this is a service,
it isn`t a politician. It`s service. So, it`s just an extension of what
we`ve been doing.
MATTHEWS: OK. I got to go. Carl Lewis, I guess I can say good luck.
LEWIS: Exactly.
MATTHEWS: I wish you well. And I won`t say break a leg. Anyway,
thank you. Go for it. Congratulations for getting on the ballot.
When we return, "Let Me Finish" with I`m calling it the battle for the
planet of the apes, like in the new movie in today`s Republican Party.
They don`t like human history and they don`t like science.
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: "Let Me Finish" tonight with this, the battle for the
planet of the apes. That`s what the fight for the Republican presidential
nomination is becoming -- a battle among those who hate science, about who
hates it the most.
You know how you get into trouble in this electoral planet of the
apes? You dare show any knowledge or respect for science. The accumulated
knowledge of -- pardon me for mentioning it -- human history. Oh, no, this
is the subject you dare not mention, not if you were in the dreaded media.
Remember the last Republican presidential fight, the one in 2008?
Remember, someone dared e-mail a debate question as to whether the
candidates believed in evolution or not. There were a lot of nots. So,
hush-hush on that one.
Now, the battle is over whether Governor Perry was right to order that
girls get shots at school to protect them from cervical cancer. This got
Congressman Bachman a chance to begin doing the planet of the apes dance.
You know, the primordial calling out ritual clamoring that goes on when
someone dares to show any interest in human science and how it can be
applied to save lives.
You have to ask yourself, what would be worse, that they actually
believe what they say or they are simply mimicking those who have every
right to believe what they do but are not asking us to give them command of
the most awful weapons of the nuclear age with all the scientific awareness
of the Stone Age. Hmm.
That`s HARDBALL for now. Thanks for being with us.
"POLITICS NATION" with Al Sharpton starts right now.
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text:
I saw this today.
I love the first one. I loved this one too!
I am not sure if it is better than the first as I have to rewatch it to get quite a few jokes. But it is entertaining. The script is more mature and has fewer cliches than the first one. (which is a good thing itself I suppose, given how fresh the first one was)
The visuals are amazing. Worth the ticket itself.
The animation good except for some scenes where Hiccup and another character's lipsing is a bit odd.
Great world building.
And dragons! So many of them. Actually this has probably more dragons than humans!
The score is good.
Warning: you might be a bit disappointed if you expect to see more scenes similar to the Hiccup-Toothless meeting from the first one. There is much cuteness associated with Toothless, but no big scenes specified. Small ones scattered throughout the film. And some hilarious moments between Toothless and other dragons.
It is actually a much mature and darker film than the first one. And has lots more action.
But there is a scene near the end which packs a big emotional punch.
The thing that, for me, really sets apart these two films is the tiny sense of loss we feel at the end of them.
In the first one the victory isn't at the cost of nothing. Hiccup looses a leg.
In this one, it is the death of his father, Stoic. (and this comes not too late after he is reunited with his long lost wife) And there is no sappy melodrama in the death scene. Stoic just dies. No last words, a few tears from Hiccup and co. Followed by, probably my favorite scene from the movie, a Viking's last rites.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Irondale Youth Hockey Association
Board Meeting: Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
at the New Brighton Family Service Center, New Brighton, MN.
Address: IYHA, PO Box 120114, New Brighton, MN 55112 Website: www.iyhaleague.org
From President (Tom Lucarelli):
August brings a lot of behind the scenes hockey activity for the association. Registration will be happening soon, ice times are being finalized, tournament entry's to decide on and coaches' interviews will take place.
For those IYHA players involved in fall sports have fun and be safe!
If you have IYHA yard signs please put them out on your lawn.
Get your Knight's skates sharpened up. Warm ups and try outs will start in early September for both the boy's and girl's programs.
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
See you at the rink,
From Girls Coordinator (Mike Nundahl):
There will be a Girls Coaches Meeting Wednesday August 6th at Mike Nundahl's house at 6:30PM. Please contact Mike at
From Registration Coordinator (Jeanne Falconer):
Registration will be Tuesday, August 19th at the New Brighton Family Service Center from 6:30 - 9:00 in room 218.
More information will follow in a separate communication.
From Web Master (Torri Johnson):
Website News
1) The survey from 2007-2008 is now posted on the website. Check it out by going to News/Board Minutes, Survey, 2007-2008.
2) July's Sponsorship Report is now posted in the Documents section. Please share this with your sponsors! This is the final report for 2007-2008. The numbers will be cleared and all team sponsors will be blanked out. Our club sponsors will continue to be included in the report for 2008-2009. Over the past season over 287,000 IYHA web pages were looked at with a sponsor banner along the top and someone clicked on one of our sponsor's website links 1,582 times.
3) Credit cards are not yet set up for on-line registration use. If it gets set up, you will be able to pay your ice bills with credit cards. Stay tuned.
4) Where did last season go? All the information from last season's teams are still in the website. Go to Our Teams and change the Season to 2007-2008 to see information from last year. The default season is now 2008-2009.
5) The Volunteer Hours submission form has been updated for the new season. Make sure you record your volunteer hours by using the form. It can be found by clicking on Volunteer across the top of the website.
Please Note: The IYHA Board Meeting for August will start at 6:00pm instead of the regular 6:30pm time.
From Vice President (Monica Crandall):
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and was able to get out and spread the word to join IYHA at the parades. The Fundraising Committee is looking for people to help out if you are interested please let me know.
IYHA Board Meetings are open meetings.
Please feel free to come to the meetings. If you wish to have a copy of any information which is distributed at any meeting, please email or call Jean Aukee and it will be mailed to you. Upcoming dates for 2007/2008 Board meetings are the
third Thursday of every month at 6:30 (6:00 in summer) p.m. Our meetings are held at the New Brighton Family Service Center.
Meetings will be: September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August.
NOTE: If you wish to be on the agenda for the meeting, please contact the IYHA President.
Lake Region Board Meetings:
Lake Region Hockey meetings are open meetings. Contact Theresa Spiering for dates and times of the next meetings.
Sponsors for teams are listed below. This part of the newsletter will continue throughout the rest of the IYHA season. Please notify Jean Aukee of any additions or corrections. (Please forward information about websites and addresses, etc.) Many thanks to our sponsors!
IYHA: **Lake Region Hockey Association**, **Moes**, **Champps**, **Katies**, **Make It Big Photos**, **Our Bar and Grill** and **Big 10 Tavern**
Team Sponsorships:
Bantam: **Response Fire Protection**
Pee Wee A: **Synergy Hockey.net Ltd** and **Minnesota Conway**
Pee Wee C: **Western Bank**, ** Dr. John Hollerud, MD** and **Minnesota Epilepsy Group**
Squirt B: **Caroline Bell Beckman & Law Firm of Jensen, Bell, Converse & Erickson** and **Bio Instruments Incorporated**
Once again, many, many thanks to our sponsors! Please support them!
When you see them, please tell them you are from Irondale Youth Hockey.
Irondale Youth Hockey Association (IYHA) Board Members 2007-2008
Tom Lucarelli
Vice President
Monica Crandall
763-234-9316 (c)
Theresa Spiering
763-780-4548 (h)
Jean Aukee
763-783-8561 (h)
Ice Commissioner
Jackie Rog
651-636-6978 (h)
Boys Program Coordinator
Mark Rupp
651-269-3027 (h & c)
Girls Program Coordinator
Mike Nundahl
651-633-8287 (h)
Initiation Coordinator
Bob Gabler
651-697-4708 (h)
Tom Johnson
Jeanne Falconer
763-458-5946 (cell)
651-486-1235 (w)
District Representative
Chris Drews
651-329-3124 (cell)
Non-Board Position:
ACE Coordinator
Tadd Tuomie and Player Development Committee
IYHA Meeting Board Meeting: July 17, 2008. Note: These minutes have not been approved. They will be reviewed, corrected as needed, and approved at the next regular Board of Directors Meeting.
Called to order at 6:34 p.m. by President Tom Lucarelli.
Board Members Present: Tom Lucarelli, Jean Aukee, Monica Crandall, Theresa Spiering, Jackie Rog, Chris Drews, Bob Gabler, Mike Nundahl, Tom Johnson and Jeanne Falconer
Board Members Absent: Mark Rupp
Guests: Jeff Martin, Mike Zosel, Tom O Keefe and Torri Johnson
Agenda: Motion to accept meeting agenda as presented (CD) (MN); all accepted; motion carried.
Minutes: Motion to accept board meeting minutes as presented (CD) (MN); all accepted; motion carried.
Old Business:
A. Initiation Overage – audit committee met last Saturday with Bob Gabler. Thanks for the 3 years of records from Theresa. The 2005 to 2006 and 2006 to 2007 seasons seem to have created the overage in the amount of $3760.80. The overage is made up of the carry over from the 2005 to 2006, a 2006 to 2007 portion of $2260 which was owed to the association but never paid, and about $500 of final bills different than what collected from parents, raffle collections vs raffle refunds in addition to other refunds not cashed. Last year pretty much done – no balance issues. Also, during 2006 to 2007 - $160 was pulled by Tom O from U8 old (intending to go to U8 new) and it never went back to U8 new, stayed in association account. So the initiation excess of $6553.99 is made up of $3760.80 – the true overage, $2260 – due to the main association account, and $500 - misc. Bob and Theresa should meet with last year's mite managers/treasurers to finalize last year's monies. The $2260 should be refunded to association. Therefore, there should be just under $4000 to be spent as allocated at the last board meeting. See page 9 of Torri's document for 12 recommendations from the committee. These should be decided on at a working meeting. Thanks to Barb Larson and Phil Schenkenberg for their help! And thanks to Theresa and Bob for their help too. Executive Committee should work with whomever they choose to come up with responses for 12 items. The motion from the last meeting could be in jeopardy because now we don't have enough money for what was proposed. Because motion stated "if enough money" we should be OK. Bob and Theresa will have a final answer for the exact initiation overage amount. Executive Committee will meet with Bob after Bob and Theresa are done with their meeting with the mite team treasurers/managers. Everyone should email Theresa within a week from tonight if anyone has a comment on the recommendations. Motion to accept Audit Committee report and actions will be recommended by Executive committee after meeting with Bob and Theresa – Bob motion and Chris second – all approved – motion carried.
B. Volunteer Program – Monica passed out an updated handout for the volunteer policy for everyone to review. Monica did some research of other associations. Jackie asked the question regarding why coaches are exempt. Monica said because they put in so much time. Bob suggested a change to have coaching hours count as volunteer hours vs calling coaches exempt. We should have this reviewed by legal counsel. Dan Beckman or Caroline Beckman would be a good contact. Bob will talk to one of them about how we should word this. Volunteer deposit should be paid by first time on the ice along with registration amounts. Monica will update and send to board members for final approval via email.
C. Registration Update – August 7th was the first registration last year so this year would be August 5th – online registration can be done any time – have 2 sessions for people to come in – Let's Play Hockey event should coincide with registration – do we have costs? Do we have warm-up and tryout dates and times? Girls are ready – Boys are not – Mark is busy with a family emergency – Jeff is on the player development committee – he has some information – otherwise can Paul Dulin, Dan Marcoullier, or Doug Loahr help out? Squirts have a two hour block because need to accommodate the Bel Aire kids that will be at LEC. Per Jackie 30 hours have already been scheduled for tryouts – 10 per age group – bantams, pee wees, squirts. Should we change it to be 6 hours of warm-ups and 4 hours of tryouts? Tom L will call Mark – if OK with him, the player development committee will move ahead and make decisions on some things in his absence. Will need to have some paper registration forms for people that just can't do online – print out the website page and have them fill it in so someone else could then key it in online.
D. Registration – Credit Cards – OK to do? Yes – need bank account set up? Torri and Theresa will work together to set up the account. Do we charge a credit card fee? Are we going with Cornerstone company – assume 800 (150 families times 5) transactions. We need to be thinking about not allocating all costs back to the individual player – we need to group some things as cost of doing business. There was a long discussion about how we handle our costs. We should increase registration costs by $20 to cover some CODB. System can be used to set up ice payments to be taken via credit card on the 1st of each month. Set up online registration earlier than the first in person registration? 1st warm up are September 8th – 12th. Website will be open then or sooner, 19th – first in person registration. Jeanne will tell Jean when to send email to association so members can put IYHA Registration yard signs out.
E. Survey Responses – we still need feed back to relay back to membership. Jeanne answered the registration comments in her newsletter input – thanks Jeanne.
New Business
A St Anthony Girls to Spring Lake Park – Mike Zosel – Mike is the Hockey Commissioner for St Anthony. He works with the associations, the athletic director and Minnesota Hockey. His job is to figure out where St Anthony boys and girls should play and is responsible for the registration and equipment program. Thanks to IYHA for the 5 year relationship we have had thus far. The test of time has been that with all the boys that have gone thru the IYHA program, there has never been a complaint about IYHA from St Anthony families. Mike is here for visibility and awareness. Since 1995 St Anthony girls have been playing with SLP. There have been some new MN hockey rules and some district turnover so this could change but seems like a go. They want to continue a relationship with us. Mike wants to help connect the dots and show documentation and proof of our relationships. We need to include St Anthony in all our communications - St Anthony Boy's Only. What if a St Anthony girl wants to play pee wees? Would they be Irondale or St Anthony? This is probably more related to where the girls will go to HS – is it somewhere in our bylaws? No but it is in our handbook. We should add the "St Anthony Boy's Only" and their School District # to our registration information. And please add Mike Zosel to our newsletter distribution –
Torri will add Mike to our website as St Anthony Spokesman Hockey Commissioner with a link to his email address.
B Website Guidelines – see Torri handout – updated to include box at end to show what updates are in this version, a note regarding blanket emails should cc the secretary and things advertised like sports camps etc should have a disclaimer regarding our association not endorsing them. CD moved to accept guidelines draft as presented by Torri; JF – second; all approved; motion carried.
C Parade Update – Cheryl gave Monica budget numbers for candy and pencils. Bob input re Let's Play Hockey night. Chris looking for a follow-up to his suggestion regarding a booth at Stockyard Days - Monica forwarded that to Heidi. Jean will send Monica an electronic copy of the Let's Play Hockey flyer from last year.
D Selection of Auditor – Tom O - $3300 was the cost for tax preparation. Our previous auditor couldn't do it anymore. An audit committee was formed of Tom L, Tom O, Theresa S, Barb L, Phil S and Torri J. Torri suggested a company called MAP. Tom O and Theresa S met with MAP representatives on June 26th – see their recommended steps on handout page 2. Their work does not include an audit and we don't need one because we have less than $350,000 in collections. The audit committee will continue to meet – this is a good thing. This assessment should be more informative than the audit we have received in the past. One of their recommendations is to have a computer system to do these treasurer duties. This could be purchased by the association and transferred from treasurer to treasurer. Theresa added a budget item to this years budget proposal. Also, for a yearly fee we could ask them questions like how to handle the volunteer deposit. Excel Energy founded MAP. CD made a motion to go with Tom O and Theresa's recommendation for the MAP accounting firm (JF second) – all approved – motion carried.
E Budget Review – each board member provides input to Theresa. We went thru her list of expenses and revenues and assigned names for who the contacts are for each item. We actually walked thru the revenues items as a group. All board members should email Theresa their estimated expense amounts for next year. BG made a motion for Theresa to go out and buy a computer and software up to $1000 to do treasurer duties including next year's budget – JF second – all approved – motion carried.
Board Roundtable:
President: Tom Lucarelli. – Tom will contact Mark Rupp re few items and pass on the boards thoughts and prayers – spoke with Tom Mickus – discussed level of play district wide - smaller assns – merger options – should be OK with squirts and peewees because we have enough kids to do 3 levels but bantams we have fewer numbers – 1 team or 2 teams – who coach and what level? Need to hold coaches accountable for their actions – Mark working on handbook – August 11th is the President's Meeting – Jeff told all the first and second year bantam age kids at his HS Camp that they have to sign up for Bantams – 28 for sure now on HS with 3 goalies – Tom may need to make some decisions without Mark. (Monica called Mark – 2 Bantam A and C, 3 Pee Wee A, B and C, and 2 Squirt A and C)
Vice President: Monica Crandall. – Are we doing IYHA table at Back to School nights at elementary schools? If so, Tami Felling is interested in helping. These usually happen in late August or early September.
Secretary: Jean Aukee. – Reminder that input for the newsletter is due on the 1st of each month. If you don't have anything, please reply to my email saying that. Thanks.
Treasurer: Theresa Spiering. – nothing else to report
Girls Program Coordinator: Mike Nundahl. – Tuesday July 22nd will be the district meeting for coordinators – a Spring Lake Park and IYHA merger at 14U level is in the works. Could we share our ice with SLP?
Initiation Program Coordinator: Bob Gabler. – nothing to report
Boys Program Coordinator: Mark Rupp. – not present, no report
District Representative: Chris Drews. – nothing to report – meeting later in month – will be discussed next month
Ice Commissioner: Jackie Rog. – need to have SSR contracts signed by August 8th – 70 and 30 split again with MV – Peter Ruppert still acting as ice commissioner. Suggestion that ice commissioners should go to Ramsey County and divide ice up. We could allocate ice better amongst other associations in Ramsey County – for example MV and IYHA should get more Shoreview ice arena because it is closer to our members and Como should get more Biff Adams ice, etc.
Registration Coordinator: Jeanne Falconer. –- August 19th will be registration in person night – still need costs
Equipment Manager: Tom Johnson. – need more money for equipment in budget – need bigger size goalie equipment
Standing Reports:
Player and Coach Development: Mark Rupp. – Tom L will follow up with Mark
Lake Region: Jeanne Falconer. – Jackie and Theresa were not there – only 7 in attendance at the last meeting – discussed combined receipt taxes – state wants public opinion on these taxes – pull tabs are being taxed out of business – organizations need to speak up – we may see some more money in August. Lake Region may need some members with younger kids in hockey – but not yet. Mary Ann brought in games for the board members to audit - to see how it works.
Fundraising Committee - no update.
Additional business – none
Motion to adjourn meeting (BG) (TJ); motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.
Would you like to have something published in the newsletter? Please contact Jean Aukee. Would you like something on the Web Site? Contact Torri Johnson at
New Privacy Policy


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I saw this ad over at Advertising is Good For You and I just love it.
This is the can-do, moxie-filled spirit of our grandfathers. This is how our ancestors made the US great. They got off their asses and worked for it.
And, in all liklihood, they did some of it wearing Levis.
I can't believe I'm kind of inspired by a jeans ad.
Odd. Very odd.
But then again, I'm usually an optimist about the future...
Friday, September 18, 2009
The moxie of America
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:09 AM 1 comments
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Light One Candle for Mary
It was the summer of 1997 and a nun made my dreams come true by giving me 6 tickets. It was the first time Handsome's parents had met mine and we sat in a sea of pot smoke at Starlight, anticipating the music to begin...
And there they were...Peter, Paul and Mary. I couldn't believe that after 20 years of life, I was finally hearing one of the most influential musical groups of my life. My parents and I were estatic, Handsome's less so, but still enthusiastic.
It was truly one of the best concerts I've ever been to and when Mary sang "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" there were tears in my eyes.
To say PP&M influenced my life would be an understatement. I remember being in 2nd grade and picking dandylions out in right field of my softball game and not understanding why my dad was upset that I wasn't following the game...
I remember when I was 10 I decided I would walk up the aisle at my wedding to "The Wedding Song" (and I did!)
I remember being in high school and their music took on such a different meaning as I was awakened to social justice issues.
I remember the first time I sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" to Darling and how she giggled.
There are SO many memories and reasons I would like to honor her for. Her music was such a part of my life that it seems amazing that the songs are now done.
I'm not one to get all broken up over celebrity deaths. It's not my thing, but I've only been upset this much on the days that Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul, George Harrison and John Denver died. All very influential famous figures in my life. This one is just so sad...
Rest in peace, Mary Travers. Thank you for everything.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 8:32 AM 4 comments
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
These make me want to throw a party
Wow! I saw these and thought they were a great, cheap idea for a really awesome dinner party.
For short-term decorating, use sturdy apples like Red Delicious or Granny Smith to craft a cute bud vase. Simply core an apple as deep as you can, using a knife or a screwdriver. Keep your handiwork hydrated and fresh by spraying the inside and edges of the fruit with a mixture of water and lemon juice. Top with one large flower, or try a small bunch. Show off these delicious creations on a mantel, windowsill or atop a rectangular plate on the dining room table when entertaining.
Here's some other ideas that I saw, but I can't get past the apples right now...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 3:17 PM 1 comments
Historically, reading...
I've been on a reading jag. (As a result my DVR is almost 75% full. Yikes!) This happens from time to time and is usually because I've started a really fabulous book. While I read almost anything under the sun, I've hit on a couple of really great historical novels lately...neither are new releases, but they're new to me, so there you go. For really great book reviews, go visit Heather J. at Age 30+: A Lifetime of Books.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
~by Harry Turtledove
The basic premise is "What if the Nazis won the war?" Not a unique pastiche, many people have played this "What if" game. Turtledove does it splendidly though. You follow the members of a secretly Jewish family, the Gimpels, and their Jewish and non-Jewish friends as they navigate the changes that follow a new Fuhrer being named to the head of the German Empire.
What I liked:
I liked Turtledove's imagination concerning how the world would be different at the beginning of the 21st Century. At times it was eerily chilling: After the 3rd World War in which the Nazis used nuclear bombs on Washington, DC and Philadelphia, Omaha became the new capital, the destroyed Liberty Bell was in Berlin on display, but sealed to protect from radiation.
I also liked the different perspectives through which Turtledove tells his story. From children in school, to Heinrich and Walther who work in the heart of the Reich, to an outspoken English professor, Susanna, the secret story of Jews in this strange new world is fascinating and at times heart-wrenching.
What I didn't like:
Very little. I thought at times Turtledove's writing mechanics were a bit elementary and maybe a bit awkward, and I didn't like the longer, somewhat laborious descriptions of playing bridge with their Aryan friends. I also was waiting for deeper emotional conflict/turmoil between the leading characters, but didn't feel like it ever came even after certain members of the family were arrested by the Nazis. But, overall, it was worth my time to read through to the end.
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
~by Susan Gulland
A friend handed me this book and said, "You HAVE to read this! You'll love it!" knowing that I am a big fan of books such as The Emancipator's Wife: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln. I sat down one evening after Darling went to bed and thought "I'll just read a few pages and see"...Three hours later I look up at the clock and realize I'm half way through the book. As the first in a series of three books, The Many Lives takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the life of Josephine (Rose) de Beauharnais from her birth as Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher in Martinique on a sugar plantation through the wild days of her unhappy first marriage and The Reign of Terror to the very beginning of her fateful relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte.
What I liked:
I loved this book! I know a pretty fair amount of French Revolution history, but I never knew much about Josephine Bonaparte before her marriage to Napoleon. The story is told through "diary entries" and "letters" and since it is about a historical figure, I appreciate that they were dated so I could tie them to a bigger perspective. I have no idea if it was true or not, but I found the prediction from a slave that she would be unhappily married, would then be widowed, and would then become queen really interesting. The novel is supposed to be relatively historically accurate and that's always a bonus for me. Now I just need to get the other two books!!
What I didn't like:
Um. Not much. I really enjoyed the voice that the character of Josephine had and I appreciate that it's not just a bodice ripper in an historical setting, but I wish it revealed a little more of the actions of her first husband, Alexandre, who played a pretty big role in the early Revolution. Also, at times, I feel as if the book has pacing issues. While it is undoubtedly a quick read, sometimes the story jumps ahead really quickly and you feel as if you might have missed something that happened in between and you wonder what the writer left out. Also, and I'm not sure if it can be helped since the story is told in diary form, I wonder whether the casual reader understands exactly what is going on during certain periods of the French Revolution. Any way around it, I'm eager to read the other two books.
I really enjoyed these books and I would encourage you to check them out. If you have any good historical fiction suggestions, send 'em my way!
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 10:47 AM 2 comments
Friday, September 11, 2009
I miss her so much today...
Please go read this first...
I dreamt about her last night...
I don't remember everything, but I do remember that in my dream she held my face in her hands and said "I love you, doll baby". Just like she did a thousand times in real life.
My grandma was the original Moxie Mama. Her Brooklyn sass inspired me so much to be a bold, brave woman. I just wish I could hug her one more time.
I hate 9/11.
I hate spending the day with tears in my eyes, even though it's been 8 years.
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 9:04 AM 14 comments
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Well, what does she do with them?
Darling is on the precipice of losing her very first tooth and I have officially entered the Land Of I Don't Know...
After Handsome and I explained how the whole Tooth Fairy thing worked, and after being initially concerned about "squishing her under my pillow on accident", Darling hit us with a stumper:
What does the Tooth Fairy do with the teeth?
I really have no idea.
And the more I thought about it, the creepier the whole notion of a Tooth Fairy became. Some fairy that sneaks into your room while you're asleep to take your teeth for unknown reasons and to leave you a couple of bucks for them.
I guess I better come up with some decent logic of why she wants them before that first little incisor falls...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:21 PM 5 comments
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Crone Next Door
After reading The Single Girl's post on her "nosy neighbor" I got to thinking about my erstwhile gem of a neighbor lady...
As soon as the ink was barely dry on our renter's contract at the house of horrors, our land(slum)lord gave the five of us college students a sickly, sweet smile and said, "Be nice to your neighbor lady. She'll call me in two seconds if you're doing something she doesn't like."
We should have known then.
The day we moved in she was sitting on her screened in porch with her 5 small, yapping dogs, watching us.
She came over to introduce herself, we'll call her Bette because you better believe we weren't sorry to move away from her.
The very first thing that came out of her mouth is, "I called _______ your landlord and found out about you. I'm just glad you're not illegals who will play their 'taco music' until 2 in the morning or druggies or Africans. One black guy who lived in your house grew pot on the second story balcony. (This is foreshadowing because we actually had a roommate that would attempt that a year later, but he wasn't a very good botanist). Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I'll be watching you."
I swear this is a direct quote.
Needless to say, our liberal arts college minds were blown by this narrow-minded, bigoted, little old lady. I don't think any of us had ever heard anybody refer to minorities like that out loud. We were white-bread, protected kids from the suburbs. We were in shock.
As it turned out, we had some pretty wild parties there and Bette never said a word, mostly I think because at least we were white and weren't going to steal from her.
Bette had lived in the house her grandfather built around the turn of the twentieth century and she knew at least 60 years of gossip for every house on the street. She was more than willing to share her stories which kind of fascinated me as an historian and bugged on the level that it just proved she had about 70+ plus years of snooping and gossiping under her belt. God only knows what horror stories she told the next people who moved into our house.
Probably that we had a suicidal cat and had love lifes more complicated than Melrose Place...
to be continued...
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 12:01 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Well, it's an honor!
I just found out that I have been named Best KC Mommy Blog (a dubious honor) by Kansas City's Best Blogs.
While I shun the "Dooce"-like title of Mommyblogger, it's nice to know The Editors (whoever they may be) know what the difference is between a "look at my kid" blog and a mother who happens to blog.
This has totally made my day!!!
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 7:52 AM 7 comments


text:
Hatley designs are sold around the world and their principles are based upon family, good design, quality, and loads of laughs. What I like about Hatley items is that they're made to last and have designs to match my personality.
With Father's Day coming around the corner, shopping is in full swing to find the perfect gift for that special father in your life. Hatley is offering 20% off men's apparel with promo code HATLEYDAD20 until June 20th.
Hatley is dedicated to ensuring that the products they make are designed to last and usually made from natural fibers. In addition, they donate a percentage of their profits and resources each year to the Lake Massawippi Water Protection Association, and they donate twenty percent of website sales from certain items to the John Wayne Cancer Institute during the month of October.
I received the Bear-B-Q Tea Towel for review. The whimsical design matches the theme of my camper and it hangs on the stove. It's been through the washer and dryer once, with no shrinkage. The towel is adequately sized and is soft.
Win It!
One person will win a kitchen set that includes a pot holder, an oven mitt, and a tea towel.
Mandatory Entry:
Leave a comment with your favorite item from Hatley.
Extra Entries:
"Like" Hatley on Facebook.
Leave a comment with which pot holder you would choose.
Leave a comment with which oven mitt you would choose.
Leave a comment with which tea towel you would choose.
Follow my blog.
Subscribe to my blog via email.
Have my button on your blog.
Have the "Outdoor Adventures" button on your blog (+3 entries).
Have the "Keepin' Company Thursdays" button on your blog (+2 entries).Blog about this giveaway, leave a link to the post (+3 entries).
Follow me on Twitter, partymix25.
Tweet about this giveaway, leave a link to the tweet (can be done once daily).
Leave a separate comment for each entry and include your email address in the comments. Giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada. Giveaway ends 6/22/10 at 8 pm CST. Winner will be randomly drawn and will have 48 hrs. to respond to email notification or a new winner will be drawn.
I received product for review from Hatley. The opinions within this post are of my own and I was not influenced in any way. Please do your own research before purchasing products. Your opinions and results may differ.


text:
Commuter forecast for July 20, 2010
July 20, 2010
It's going to be another warm day with temperatures reaching the mid-90s by this afternoon. Gusting winds will accompany a possibility for storms later in the day.
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text:
Title: History of the Scholars of Shen Zhou, Volume IV
Short Title: Record of 2005
Original Author: Qu Hui
Keywords: history, sosz, forum, scholars, 2005
Description: The fourth volume in a series of articles detaling the history of the forum from 2002-2008.
History of the Scholars, Volume IV (2005)
There was no Scholar of the Month elected for any month this year.
In the second month, on the eighth day, Kristina, the first compiler of the history and future member of the moderation team, joins the forum.
In the third month, on the twenty-ninth day, Dynasty Warriors 5 is released in North America.
In the fourth month, the April Fool's Day Prank is started (1). This results in a brief spike in fear levels of non-Wuists.
In the sixth month, on the twenty-first day, Romance of the Three Kingdoms X is released in North America for the Playstation 2.
In the seventh month, Kongming's Archives and the forum are mentioned in NewType magazine as the definitive source on Three Kingdoms-based video games. On the thirty-first day, SunXia, the second compiler of the history and future member of the moderation team, joins the forum.
In the eight month, on the third day, Shield of Rohan and SYL become moderators of Current Affairs. On the thirteenth day, Jonathan became moderator of the Pub. On the fifteenth day, the forum was updated to phpBB 2.0.17.
In the tenth month, on the sixteenth day, Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends is released in North America.
(1) For more information, see "History of the April Fool's Day Jokes."


text:
"Man forced to put off retirement for two years due to lost tax records." Could that happen to you? Yes, it could. Or worse.
One of the most frequent questions that comes to TaxMama is — Can I throw out my tax records? Really, how long must I keep them?
Being a pack rat, TaxMama's preferred response is, hold on to everything forever. But were you to follow that advice, you'd be living with a mountain of paperwork, files and junk, like Monk's hoarder brother. Clearly, this is not a good solution.
What are reasonable guidelines to avoid hoarding, while protecting yourself?
According to the IRS, individual taxpayers should keep returns for three to six years. Non-filers and fraudsters should keep their records forever. (See the IRS guidelines on record retention.)
The IRS is wrong about this.
Let's look at the case of David, a teacher. He is a responsible and ethical person who always files his tax returns on time — and correctly. He should be in that three-to-six-year category. Or so he thought.
Recently, David decided to clean out his old files and shred all his un-needed records. He kept the last decade's worth. No problem, right?
Right. Until he pulled his Social Security record to look up his retirement benefits. He found they didn't show enough quarters of work. David was short two years. The Social Security Administration (SSA) was missing data from years when he had a job outside the school district.
David started working in his teens. Surely, he has 40 credits (or 10 years) in the system? Yes, he does. But having gotten rid of his older tax returns, he can no longer prove it. David asked the IRS for copies of certain missing years, dating back to about 20 years ago. Not only did the IRS not have copies, but they didn't even have electronic transcripts going that far back.
What can David do? Not a thing. He accepted this philosophically, knowing he must work two more years to build up his benefits.
How can you avoid this problem? It's easy. Never, ever throw out a tax return. The tax returns themselves don't take up much space. If you need to thin out the files, you could probably shred the back up — but hold on to the W-2s and 1099s. They may turn out to be valuable.
This lesson is especially important to teachers and school or college administrators. Although your district or union may have opted out of the Social Security system in favor of its own retirement system, you may have worked for other employers or operated your own business to build up Social Security benefits. Pull your own SSA records immediately and make sure they are correct — or to see how many quarters you still need in order to collect benefits.
So, reason No. 1 to keep your tax returns forever is — to protect your Social Security or retirement benefits.
Reason No. 2 — You bought things. Whether investments or assets and equipment for your business, keep those purchase documents for at least six years after you sell those assets, or finish rolling them over (for those indulging in tax-free exchanges). If you're ever audited during the time you own those assets, the IRS can request the original purchase documents — even if the purchase was 10 years ago. Why? It's still on your tax return as a depreciable asset; or you reported the basis when you sold the asset.
Reason No. 3 — You move around often, or have had income in other states — either via a job or an investment that issues a K-1. A heart-wrenching problem TaxMama® often hears about is people who suddenly find their IRS refunds being grabbed by other states (via the IRS collection system) with no apparent warning. The taxpayer had no idea they owed any money. In some cases, the tax debt might be 10 or 20 years old.
How can the state get away with this? As with the IRS, the state tax system has no statute of limitations on audit or collections for tax returns never filed. If you don't file and tell them that you don't owe money, they will assume you do. The state then creates an assessment, which can sit on the books for years waiting for you to respond (if they know where to send correspondence). Suddenly, someone clever looking to raise easy money for the state turns all those delinquent balances over to the IRS — and your refund gets hit.
In fact, we're at the beginning of one of these fights right now. Steve just got a notice from an eastern state claiming that he owes tax on about $4,000 worth of income from a 2010 K-1. The state saw $4,000 worth of investment income on a K-1 and ignored the $8,000 worth of business losses on the same page. This will be resolved easily — because we have the records to prove his losses. Without them? He'd have to pay taxes, a variety of penalties, and interest on the whole shebang.
If a state comes after you, you may be able to prove you don't owe them money, too. How? By using your tax return copy for the year in question, you can prepare a tax return for the state collecting from you. You probably have enough deductions or write-offs to wipe out the taxes the state thinks you owe. You may also be able to get the benefit of a tax credit for taxes paid to another state. (Though that may only be available if you file a resident tax return.)
There's inexpensive tax software back through 2000 at TaxACT. Anything older than that — you must do manually or find a nice, gray-haired tax professional who's been in business for 20 or 30 years and still keeps the discs (and possibly a DOS computer) to run the software.
Reason No. 4 — Insurance records. The policy may be paid in full, so you've forgotten about it. But should you get hurt, disabled or die, it would be really valuable to your family. Companies change hands and their policy rules change. If you have the original documents, you can prove they owe you more than they would currently pay out.
Reason No. 5 — IRA and retirement plan contributions. You get two benefits for keeping these records. First, your state may have had a lower deduction for your contributions. That means, part of your distribution won't be taxable for state purposes. Second, you may have made non-deductible contributions for federal (and state) purposes in some years. So part of your distribution won't be taxable for the IRS either.
And of course, there is that universal law — the minute you throw something out that you haven't looked at or touched in decades — you will need it desperately.


text:
Humor as medicine
Posted 20 June 2013 - 10:48 PM
Posted 17 July 2013 - 11:39 PM
This is the full movie: LOST & FOUND in ARMENIA. More than 2 hours and in English, just posted new this month in YouTube, the movie starts in Istanbul and ends in....:Կորած Մոլորվածը Հայաստանում ( Հայերեն ) / Невероятные приключения американца в Армении
just put the above sentence in the search tap of YouTube
Edited by man, 17 July 2013 - 11:48 PM.
- MosJan likes this
Posted 18 July 2013 - 09:33 AM
Posted 18 July 2013 - 01:28 PM
Yes, I watched the whole of it and it's very well made comedy. First I have to clarify that it is not in English, although it has some English and Turkish, but mostly it's in Eastern Armenian. It starts somewhere in Turkey where a Turkish fat peddler at the hotel is offering to a young American tourist (hero of film) hashish, drugs, girls & boys for sex and when he says "cheap" the American understands as the Turk saying "sheep" and he answers "no sheep" meaning he is not interested in bestiality either but the Turk insists that he is able to provide him even sheep in cheap price for sex. Then when our hero is doing paragliding the robs broke off and an airplane carries him and his para-glider all the way to Armenia and drops him from air into a rural Armenian village near the Turkish border. An old Armenian veteran of the Soviet army when he sees the American with the parachute (paraglider) takes him to be a Turkish spy and makes him prisoner. Nobody speaks English in the village (except the heroine of the film) and the "Turkish spy" does not speak Armenian. The plot goes on from the the son of the mayor of the village wanting to marry the heroine, Anne, while she falls in love with the "Turkish spy," that is the American hero of the film. And as is the custom in rural Armenia where in some few occasions, when love is rejected the son of the mayor kidnaps Anne to make her his wife forcibly but they fall in the trap of two real Turkish soldiers who just pass over the border or the brakes of the car fails and the car rolls over to the Turkish side of the border, whatever, but those two Turks are real mean and are about to rape beautiful Anne.This film is a good representation of the village life in Armenia but it is very much exaggerated to make you laugh and is far from reality and the real nature of its rural people.
Posted 23 July 2013 - 06:16 PM
Posted 02 September 2013 - 09:59 PM
Laughter is the Best Medicine, watch this video and start laughing & laughing:
I think by "mas" he means "more" and by "doble" he means "double" laughter..
Posted 12 September 2013 - 10:35 AM
Baku is accusing the Dans that they have made a deal with Armenia. The Armenian soccer team will assure a Danish victory in the recent match in return of Danish MPs and other officials visiting the Artsack region.
Posted 12 September 2013 - 12:07 PM
ohhh boy....
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text:
Source Interlink, publisher of such motorcycle magazines as: Motorcyclist, Sport Rider, Dirt Rider, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which is owned by billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos., is expected to privatize after the bankruptcy, with debtors losing nearly $1 billion in outstanding loans.
It's expected that heavy restructuring and cost cutting will now take place within the company's publications, but it's too early to determine which, if any, titles will be closed or sold.
On the potential chopping block is the following motorcycle titles: ATV Rider, Baggers, Dirt Rider, Hot Bike, Motorcycle Cruiser, Motorcyclist, Sport Rider, Street Chopper, & Super Street Bike
With Cycleworld just recently up on the for sale block, its no big story that U.S. magazines are having a hard time of things. Advertising revenue fell in the first quarter by 20% from last year, according to the Publisher's Information Bureau, an industry group. Combine that with the fact that U.S. auto sales tumbled 37% in March, and you might not be as surprised to hear that Source Interlink hasn't reported a profit since the second quarter of 2007.